The Best Tomatoes to Grow Where You Live

In some regions, tomatoes must cope with high heat and humidity. In other areas, short growing seasons and cold temperatures are the biggest challenges.

MATTHEW T. STALLBAUMER

The surest way to have a successful tomato crop is to grow varieties with a proven track record in organic gardens in your area. Last fall, we conducted an online survey asking readers about the best tomato varieties for their regions, and we got even more great information than we expected!

In addition to naming names, our 2,000 respondents offered up a treasure-trove of useful tips. Some of the best of these appear in the regional lists of top tomato varieties below. Additional regional tomato-growing tips appear on our regional gardening pages.

Tomato Lover’s Profile

Our survey was open to anyone. Many members of the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Gardening Advisory Board weighed in on what they view as the best tomatoes, as did folks from Seed Savers Exchange and various online gardening forums. Many gardeners with only a few years of experience didn’t suggest varieties, but instead begged for help! Gardeners with more experience shared many variety recommendations.

Many gardeners had common purposes, with more than 44 percent of respondents saying they hoped to grow enough tomatoes “to eat fresh, preserve and share.” More than 66 percent use only organic methods, with compost and aged manure the top choices for fertilizers. About half of the survey-takers reported that tomatoes are easy or moderately easy for them to grow, with more difficulty noted in extreme climates.

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In some regions, tomatoes must cope with high heat and humidity. In other areas, short growing seasons and cold temperatures are the biggest challenges.MATTHEW T. STALLBAUMER

Last fall, we conducted an online survey asking readers about the best tomatoes that grow where they live. More than 2,000 people responded, telling us their favorite varieties and offering helpful tomato-growing tips.PHOTO: EMILY HELLER

‘Brandywine’ tomatoes. This variety was No. 1 in the “Slicer” category — the main-crop tomatoes used for making sauce and also eaten fresh.RICK WETHERBEE

The entire category of “cherry tomatoes” was very popular. These small tomatoes come in a rainbow of colors, and, because they mature quickly, they are especially valued in regions with short growing seasons.ISTOCKPHOTO

‘White Beefsteak’ tomatoes. Beefsteak varieties came in No. 1 in our category of “Really Big” tomatoes — those that often produce fruits weighing a pound or more.JERRY PAVIA

‘Stupice’ tomatoes. This variety ranked high in the “Saladette/Pear” category.JERRY PAVIA

‘Green Zebra’ tomatoes. This variety was a favorite “non-red.”JERRY PAVIA

Tomato Varieties and Types

It was easy to tally up scores for well-known varieties such as ‘Amish Paste’ or ‘Early Girl,’ but several variety groups presented identification problems. As I combed through the lists, “beefsteak” and “roma” formed large generic categories, so they are treated that way for ranking purposes. ‘Brandywine’ should be considered a generic category as well, because it was impossible to identify strains that vary in color from pink to yellow to black.

For organizational purposes, the survey sorted tomatoes into the following types:

Note that a tomato can fall into more than one category — for example, a great slicing tomato might also be a non-red.

What’s Important?

Respondents rated various tomato characteristics in terms of importance. Here are your five highest priorities:

Flavor

Disease resistance

Open-pollinated

High yields

Heat resistance

North America’s Top 30

The top 30 varieties listed below show a mix of hybrid (F1) and open-pollinated (OP) varieties. Many respondents declared an “heirlooms only” stance on tomatoes, especially in climates that are kind to tomatoes. Disease-resistant hybrids won more favor in stressful growing situations. Additionally, our survey showed that interest in better disease resistance increases with years of tomato-growing experience.

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Please note that both hybrid and open-pollinated versions are available for the ‘Beefsteak,’ ‘Sungold,’ ‘Roma’ and ‘San Marzano’ varieties. You can locate varieties through our Seed and Plant Finder.

Contributing editor Barbara Pleasant gardens in southwest Virginia, where she grows vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers and a few lucky chickens. Contact Barbara by visiting her website or finding her on Google+.

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